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Woman who told her children to 'keep calm and lie in bed' as she set family home on fire denied bail

The woman had applied for bail on the grounds that her underlying health conditions would put her at greater risk of catching the virus in prison
UPDATED APR 20, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

A woman who set fire to her house to burn herself and her two young children to death has been denied bail on grounds of the coronavirus pandemic by an Australian judge. Details of the case have been suppressed to protect the identity of the children, but the woman was 47 years old when she allegedly set alight a couch and a linen cupboard to start a fire in her south Canberra home.

After lighting the flames, she reportedly went to her children's bedroom, lay down, and started crying even as they begged for help.

Firefighters, luckily, managed to rescue her and her two then-primary-school-aged children, all unconscious, from the blaze. She and one of the kids were then transported to Sydney for specialist medical treatment.

The mom was subsequently charged with two counts of attempted murder and has been in jail in Canberra, where she is now claiming she is at greater risk of COVID-19 because of her ill health. 

Speaking at the ACT Supreme Court this past Friday, April 17, her lawyer Stephen Whybrow said she suffered from asthma and type 2 diabetes and that the novel coronavirus outbreak put her in the way of harm. He argued that even though there were no cases of the disease in the prison yet, the woman would be in danger if it did.

The Australian Capital Territory has seen a total of 104 cases. However, 91 of those cases have recovered from the virus and have been released from self-isolation and there are only 10 active cases in the territory.

The defense also used material from other courts that had raised concerns for people in custody currently who were more susceptible to the virus. Prosecutor Anthony Williamson pointed out there was no evidence COVID-19 would put her at greater risk as the ACT's jail had established safeguards against the virus. He also told the court that the father of the children was terrified at the thought that she would be released from behind bars.

Justice David Mossop, ultimately, favored the prosecution and dismissed the application and said that if the woman was released, she would pose an "unacceptable risk" to her children and her ex-husband.

Mossop shared that when one of the children asked for a glass of water as the house around them burned and was engulfed in flames, the mom told them to "stay calm and lie on your bed."

The woman wiped away tears as the judge raised concerns for the victims and added that if the threat of losing her own life had not been enough to stop her from committing the alleged crime, no bail condition was capable of mitigating the risks. "Bail must be refused whether or not there are special circumstances," Mossop said. "A person who was willing to sacrifice her own life is unlikely to be deterred by conditions of her bail."

MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported how both France and Australia had seen a spike in domestic violence figures since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the issue of stay-at-home orders. Research has shown that forced life and isolation only spurs domestic violence within the household, with factors such as financial stability and unemployment an increasing concern during the pandemic.

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